WKMahler
The Fly
Hi,
No I was not at this concert, I sure wish I was, I mean I really do. This is from "Kev' of rec.music.artists.springsteen and Bruce is headed to Europe in June.
_______________________
I thought more than once last night, stuffed into my cramped sat at
the Orpheum, sweating due to lack of air conditioning and having to pee
so bad it hurt, This is the reason why I'm alive. So that I can
experience joy like this. This is the reason why people exist, because
at the end of it all, these are the rewards we reap for living our
strange little lives.
From the moment Bruce Springsteen took the stage last night, I was
transported. I've seen Springsteen with the E Street Band seven
times now, but this was the first time I'd seen him perform solo, and
man, what a change. Now, I love Springsteen the bandleader, the
balls-to-the-wall rocker. But last night, man. Last night is
hands-down the best concert I've ever been to in my life, and one of
the greatest experiences of my existence.
My Beautiful Reward - Bruce started out with the closing cut from
Lucky Town, playing alone on pump organ. His voice soared. From where
I sat on the balcony, I could see his face, see him illuminated in the
midst of a pale blue spotlight. Pump organ. Wow. It was a beautiful,
uplifting way to start the show.
Reason to Believe - And then he went nuts. He left the organ and
moved to center stage. We're all still applauding and then he
stomped on the floor and the lights went out. Everyone in the audience
stopped their cheers and Bruce just kept stomping on the floor, angrily
it seemed. Then stark lights came up on his face and he started in
with a harsh blues harmonica, singing the lyrics of "Reason to
Believe" into the harmonica microphone. The sound was distorted,
twisted, sounding at once far off and immediate. If you didn't know
the song, you wouldn't have been able to figure out the lyrics. When
you finally figured it out, the song drained of all the hopeful
optimism it had at the end of Nebraska, especially in the raspy,
whispered repetitions of the chorus. All through it, he continued
stomping, echoing the percussive sound throughout the Orpheum, and his
face on the big screens projected him possessed, almost demonic in his
delivery. It was chilling.
Devils & Dust - One of his few "straight" reads of the night,
just him up front and center stage with a harmonica and a guitar. But
no matter how many times I've listened to this song (we must be
approaching a hundred times by now), none of it prepared me for the
intensity of seeing it live. Springsteen delivered this with a direct
passion that I even found missing from the televised live performances
of this one. What a treat.
Lonesome Day - At first, I couldn't figure out what he was playing,
his guitar fast and loose. Then he started in with the words and I
couldn't have stopped the smile if I'd tried. I loved how it
thematically follows "Devils & Dust," ("you better ask questions
before you shoot," and "Devils & Dust" is all about those
questions), and I love how it's changed from the E Street Band
concerts. For the first time, I witnessed a reworking of a song
personally - where the E Street Band version of this opened the shows
for The Rising tour rousingly, where everyone threw their hands up for
the "it's all right, it's all right, it's all right, yeah!"
bridge, here he's singing that part to himself, as if he's trying
to convince himself that it will be all right. It was a remarkable
transformation; like a lot of the songs tonight, this one seemed to be
saying that we're mired in the worst of it, but we have to hope for
the best.
Long Time Coming - This is where the optimism really took off.
Midway through, he seemed to start feeling his lyrics more intensely,
and moved slightly away from the mic, speaking the words more than
singing them. It was beautiful. And when he sang "I ain't gonna
fuck it up this time," I was prepared for juvenile giggles from the
audience. What I didn't expect was the thunderous applause that
greeted it. Man, if Springsteen was on tonight - and he was - the
audience was right there with him.
Black Cowboys - You're always unsure how a slow story-song is going
to play in concert. I was curious about this one because I've
recently discovered it's one of my favorite songs on the new album.
I used to lump it in with "The Hitter" as being one of those Tom
Joad-type story songs that work best in hushed places ... but even
though you have to pay attention to the lyrics in this one, it's not
necessarily quiet. In an E Street Band show, this is the one where
people would have been getting up for beer runs, but the concession
stand closes early on this tour, and we all sat transfixed at the
intensity here. Midway through, the offstage organ came up and I could
see the story played out in front of me. This was beautiful.
The River - He moved over to the piano for this one, and I started
getting chills once I recognized the melody. Damn, I am running out of
words here; at first I wondered if he could perform the complexities of
the piano himself, then I just sat back and listened to the gorgeous
sound of it accompanying his voice. I can't say what was different
about this one - it was different, though - except that it's both
more hopeful and much sadder than the album version. I'd been
tearing up at "Long Time Coming," but this was where I lost it:
"Is a dream a lie if it don't come true, or is it something
worse?"
Real World - I will never, ever listen to the album version again.
I'm taking it off my iPod today. How that overproduced Adult
Oriented mid-nineties rock track from Human Touch became this quiet
reflection on realistic love, I will never ever know. This was my
second-biggest surprise of the night, and the reason why I will seek
out bootlegs of this show. The way his voice seemed to turn inward
when he sings "ain't no flags unfurled," as opposed to the
yelling he was doing on the album ... Jesus, thinking about it now is
almost too much. Wow.
Part Man, Part Monkey - And here comes a curious stretch of songs
that I've never much cared for that Bruce made me stand up and love.
For this one, Springsteen takes the faux-reggae beat of the studio
version and makes it almost surf rock. Like his little tale of
evolution gone wrong gets the "Miserlou" treatment. I was stunned.
Every lyric got more intense, every reading more growling. At the
very end, he whispers: "We've come a long way, baby. And we're
going back." This fits firmly in the middle of what I'm calling
the Lunatic Trio - "Reason to Believe," this one, and "I'm On
Fire," which I'm getting to.
All the Way Home - I've only kind of liked this version on the
album, mostly (and shamefully) because I was spoiled by the slower,
more meditative Southside Johnny version first. Here, after a series
of more contemplative songs (and the almost angry "Part Man, Part
Monkey"), he rouses the audience again with an involving rocker.
Right up in front with a smile on his face, and everyone was with him.
I re-listened to this song on the way home with new ears, and I can now
see it becoming one of my favorites.
Cautious Man - And here we are. Springsteen pulled deep from Tunnel
of Love and it wasn't the one I was wishing for (that would be
"Valentine's Day," which he's never played in concert.) I have
long held the belief that "Cautious Man" is the worst song
Springsteen has ever put to record ... and seeing it live changed my
mind. Maybe it was the venue or the spare singing, or the way it fit
in thematically with everything else, but for the first time ever,
Bruce made me like this song. And that's a feat.
Reno - When I heard those first guitar-plucks, I was in heaven. I
absolutely love this song on the record, and seeing it live was
transcendent. I hadn't ever realized how the framing story - the
one where the protagonist is visiting the hooker - is all solo
guitar, but when he starts remembering better days, the organ comes in,
making the sound fuller and richer. This was probably the best case of
the offstage organ working toward the betterment of Bruce on stage. I
sat riveted, unable to believe that something this amazing was
happening in front of me.
Paradise - Springsteen's tech crew brought out a small electric
piano at the end of "Reno," and he laughed to the audience.
"This is a very special instrument," he said. "We only need it
for one song!" Then he started playing it, and it was almost like a
Radio Shack Casio keyboard, Bruce plucking out simple notes like a kid
would. Then he put both hands on it, and it transformed into this
moody, dark song from The Rising. For the first two verses, he stuck
to the electric keyboard ... and then he reached over and began playing
both the keyboard and the real piano at the same time. With two hands!
Then, for the last verse, he moved over to the piano to finish it; it
was ... haunting. That's the only word for it. Wow.
The Rising - When he did this on Storytellers, I wasn't sure what
to make of it. He deconstructed it right after, stopping at every line
to explain himself, and though I liked the explanations, I didn't
like the interruptions. Now, here, there were no interruptions and it
worked wonderfully. The anthemic quality of it is stripped down, but
not spare. Even with just a guitar up there, he makes it sound full.
You know, I read message boards a lot, and the reaction to The Rising,
especially the title song, has always been lackluster. It seems,
though, that a lot of "regular" fans just adore the heck out of it
- people were singing along, tapping their hands on their knees. It
was amazing to watch.
Further On Up the Road - A song I didn't particularly care for on
The Rising comes alive again. I saw this one first on The Rising tour,
and I liked it better in concert than on the record. I didn't know
why, it was almost the same. But after "Maria's Bed" borrowed
some lines from it, I think I'm seeing it in a whole new thematic
light. Now, in a performance dominated by a lot of quieter songs, this
provided a much-needed balance, and I loved it for that. Every day, I
like this song more.
Jesus Was an Only Son - Great on the record, even better in concert.
He paused midway through to wonder what would have happened if Jesus
hadn't listened to his calling and had lived out a happy, Earthly
life. This is another of his songs about hard choices, and
consequences stemming from those choices. Maybe that's why I like
this one so much.
Leah - After a funny story about Roy Orbison (before his death, Roy
excitedly told Springsteen that he'd written a song about
windsurfing, and it was really good. Last night, Springsteen pointed
to John Kerry, who was in the audience. "Yeah, you can lie to the
American public and send people off to war," he said, "But don't
mention that you like windsurfing, because that'll lose you the
vote." It was neat.), Springsteen launched into this song, one of my
least favorite on Devils & Dust. What can I say? Another redemption.
I think it had to do with him singing the "li, li, li" part in the
middle, and how that connected to "The Rising." Hmmm.
The Hitter - His roadies brought out a stool for this one, and I
feared that the combination of him sitting and this slow song would get
boring. It didn't, exactly, but it brought the show to a quieter
place. It's like at the end of my mix tapes, where the more dire
songs work in at the end. This was as good in concert as it is on the
album, no real change.
Matamoros Banks - Same here. Quiet, beautiful ... with the slight
exception of the haunting howl at the end. He used that howl a lot
last night, like a ghostly aching for something better. A good way to
close out the main set.
Ramrod - And then there were encores! Oh my God was this one fun!
He sang this one fast and fun and loose and the audience went wild.
Then he forgot the words to the last verse! He wandered around stage,
muttering, "I don't remember the words" and laughing at himself.
Then he remembered them and riled us all up some more, his guitar
jangly and rockabilly and absolutely fun.
I'm On Fire - My vote for biggest "Holy Shit!" moment of the
night. He grabbed a banjo - a banjo! - and sang this one as if he
was a serial killer looking for prey. "Hey little girl is your daddy
home / did he go and leave you all alone" became less smoldering
eroticism and more abject menace. "Does he do to you the things that
I'll do?" is absolutely horrifying. What's he going to do?! And
the refrain: "Oh, oh, oh, I'm on fire" is a grunt, a muttered
confession. This was probably the high point of a high night.
Land of Hope and Dreams - Or maybe this was. For awhile, the
full-band version of this song was in the running for my favorite
Springsteen song. Last night, I was reminded why. My eyes started
welling up early on and they just didn't stop. This is the song
where being optimistic is the key, where hope is the thing you strive
for. No matter what happens, no matter who you are or what you've
done in this wretched life, you deserve a second chance. Here it is.
Promised Land - Hands-down the best version of this song I've ever
heard. One of my early favorites, this one transformed last night into
a quieter, more contemplative yearning for understanding. I remember
who I was when I first heard this, a mixed-up kid trying to make sense
of my solitary life. Things are better now, fuller, but there's
always something to strive for, something to look forward to. And
Springsteen seems to be looking for it, too: hope and mercy and second
chances, from here on down the line. This was perfection.
Dream Baby Dream - He closed the show out the same way he opened it,
on the pump organ. This cover of the band Suicide is simple, with few
lyrics: "Dream baby dream / dry your eyes / keep dreaming," and
repeat. But it's the way it's performed. It's hard to explain.
Springsteen on the pump organ, the off-stage organ accompanying,
Springsteen repeating the same words over and over, making them a
mantra. Then he stands and it's just the offstage organ and Bruce
with a microphone: "Dream baby dream," as he walks to the front of
the stage, and now it's not a mantra but a prayer, "Dry your eyes,
baby," and he moves slowly offstage, leaving us in a rapture of these
words, these themes, these messages. Dream baby dream. I didn't
have to last night. All my dreams came true.
Kev
No I was not at this concert, I sure wish I was, I mean I really do. This is from "Kev' of rec.music.artists.springsteen and Bruce is headed to Europe in June.
_______________________
I thought more than once last night, stuffed into my cramped sat at
the Orpheum, sweating due to lack of air conditioning and having to pee
so bad it hurt, This is the reason why I'm alive. So that I can
experience joy like this. This is the reason why people exist, because
at the end of it all, these are the rewards we reap for living our
strange little lives.
From the moment Bruce Springsteen took the stage last night, I was
transported. I've seen Springsteen with the E Street Band seven
times now, but this was the first time I'd seen him perform solo, and
man, what a change. Now, I love Springsteen the bandleader, the
balls-to-the-wall rocker. But last night, man. Last night is
hands-down the best concert I've ever been to in my life, and one of
the greatest experiences of my existence.
My Beautiful Reward - Bruce started out with the closing cut from
Lucky Town, playing alone on pump organ. His voice soared. From where
I sat on the balcony, I could see his face, see him illuminated in the
midst of a pale blue spotlight. Pump organ. Wow. It was a beautiful,
uplifting way to start the show.
Reason to Believe - And then he went nuts. He left the organ and
moved to center stage. We're all still applauding and then he
stomped on the floor and the lights went out. Everyone in the audience
stopped their cheers and Bruce just kept stomping on the floor, angrily
it seemed. Then stark lights came up on his face and he started in
with a harsh blues harmonica, singing the lyrics of "Reason to
Believe" into the harmonica microphone. The sound was distorted,
twisted, sounding at once far off and immediate. If you didn't know
the song, you wouldn't have been able to figure out the lyrics. When
you finally figured it out, the song drained of all the hopeful
optimism it had at the end of Nebraska, especially in the raspy,
whispered repetitions of the chorus. All through it, he continued
stomping, echoing the percussive sound throughout the Orpheum, and his
face on the big screens projected him possessed, almost demonic in his
delivery. It was chilling.
Devils & Dust - One of his few "straight" reads of the night,
just him up front and center stage with a harmonica and a guitar. But
no matter how many times I've listened to this song (we must be
approaching a hundred times by now), none of it prepared me for the
intensity of seeing it live. Springsteen delivered this with a direct
passion that I even found missing from the televised live performances
of this one. What a treat.
Lonesome Day - At first, I couldn't figure out what he was playing,
his guitar fast and loose. Then he started in with the words and I
couldn't have stopped the smile if I'd tried. I loved how it
thematically follows "Devils & Dust," ("you better ask questions
before you shoot," and "Devils & Dust" is all about those
questions), and I love how it's changed from the E Street Band
concerts. For the first time, I witnessed a reworking of a song
personally - where the E Street Band version of this opened the shows
for The Rising tour rousingly, where everyone threw their hands up for
the "it's all right, it's all right, it's all right, yeah!"
bridge, here he's singing that part to himself, as if he's trying
to convince himself that it will be all right. It was a remarkable
transformation; like a lot of the songs tonight, this one seemed to be
saying that we're mired in the worst of it, but we have to hope for
the best.
Long Time Coming - This is where the optimism really took off.
Midway through, he seemed to start feeling his lyrics more intensely,
and moved slightly away from the mic, speaking the words more than
singing them. It was beautiful. And when he sang "I ain't gonna
fuck it up this time," I was prepared for juvenile giggles from the
audience. What I didn't expect was the thunderous applause that
greeted it. Man, if Springsteen was on tonight - and he was - the
audience was right there with him.
Black Cowboys - You're always unsure how a slow story-song is going
to play in concert. I was curious about this one because I've
recently discovered it's one of my favorite songs on the new album.
I used to lump it in with "The Hitter" as being one of those Tom
Joad-type story songs that work best in hushed places ... but even
though you have to pay attention to the lyrics in this one, it's not
necessarily quiet. In an E Street Band show, this is the one where
people would have been getting up for beer runs, but the concession
stand closes early on this tour, and we all sat transfixed at the
intensity here. Midway through, the offstage organ came up and I could
see the story played out in front of me. This was beautiful.
The River - He moved over to the piano for this one, and I started
getting chills once I recognized the melody. Damn, I am running out of
words here; at first I wondered if he could perform the complexities of
the piano himself, then I just sat back and listened to the gorgeous
sound of it accompanying his voice. I can't say what was different
about this one - it was different, though - except that it's both
more hopeful and much sadder than the album version. I'd been
tearing up at "Long Time Coming," but this was where I lost it:
"Is a dream a lie if it don't come true, or is it something
worse?"
Real World - I will never, ever listen to the album version again.
I'm taking it off my iPod today. How that overproduced Adult
Oriented mid-nineties rock track from Human Touch became this quiet
reflection on realistic love, I will never ever know. This was my
second-biggest surprise of the night, and the reason why I will seek
out bootlegs of this show. The way his voice seemed to turn inward
when he sings "ain't no flags unfurled," as opposed to the
yelling he was doing on the album ... Jesus, thinking about it now is
almost too much. Wow.
Part Man, Part Monkey - And here comes a curious stretch of songs
that I've never much cared for that Bruce made me stand up and love.
For this one, Springsteen takes the faux-reggae beat of the studio
version and makes it almost surf rock. Like his little tale of
evolution gone wrong gets the "Miserlou" treatment. I was stunned.
Every lyric got more intense, every reading more growling. At the
very end, he whispers: "We've come a long way, baby. And we're
going back." This fits firmly in the middle of what I'm calling
the Lunatic Trio - "Reason to Believe," this one, and "I'm On
Fire," which I'm getting to.
All the Way Home - I've only kind of liked this version on the
album, mostly (and shamefully) because I was spoiled by the slower,
more meditative Southside Johnny version first. Here, after a series
of more contemplative songs (and the almost angry "Part Man, Part
Monkey"), he rouses the audience again with an involving rocker.
Right up in front with a smile on his face, and everyone was with him.
I re-listened to this song on the way home with new ears, and I can now
see it becoming one of my favorites.
Cautious Man - And here we are. Springsteen pulled deep from Tunnel
of Love and it wasn't the one I was wishing for (that would be
"Valentine's Day," which he's never played in concert.) I have
long held the belief that "Cautious Man" is the worst song
Springsteen has ever put to record ... and seeing it live changed my
mind. Maybe it was the venue or the spare singing, or the way it fit
in thematically with everything else, but for the first time ever,
Bruce made me like this song. And that's a feat.
Reno - When I heard those first guitar-plucks, I was in heaven. I
absolutely love this song on the record, and seeing it live was
transcendent. I hadn't ever realized how the framing story - the
one where the protagonist is visiting the hooker - is all solo
guitar, but when he starts remembering better days, the organ comes in,
making the sound fuller and richer. This was probably the best case of
the offstage organ working toward the betterment of Bruce on stage. I
sat riveted, unable to believe that something this amazing was
happening in front of me.
Paradise - Springsteen's tech crew brought out a small electric
piano at the end of "Reno," and he laughed to the audience.
"This is a very special instrument," he said. "We only need it
for one song!" Then he started playing it, and it was almost like a
Radio Shack Casio keyboard, Bruce plucking out simple notes like a kid
would. Then he put both hands on it, and it transformed into this
moody, dark song from The Rising. For the first two verses, he stuck
to the electric keyboard ... and then he reached over and began playing
both the keyboard and the real piano at the same time. With two hands!
Then, for the last verse, he moved over to the piano to finish it; it
was ... haunting. That's the only word for it. Wow.
The Rising - When he did this on Storytellers, I wasn't sure what
to make of it. He deconstructed it right after, stopping at every line
to explain himself, and though I liked the explanations, I didn't
like the interruptions. Now, here, there were no interruptions and it
worked wonderfully. The anthemic quality of it is stripped down, but
not spare. Even with just a guitar up there, he makes it sound full.
You know, I read message boards a lot, and the reaction to The Rising,
especially the title song, has always been lackluster. It seems,
though, that a lot of "regular" fans just adore the heck out of it
- people were singing along, tapping their hands on their knees. It
was amazing to watch.
Further On Up the Road - A song I didn't particularly care for on
The Rising comes alive again. I saw this one first on The Rising tour,
and I liked it better in concert than on the record. I didn't know
why, it was almost the same. But after "Maria's Bed" borrowed
some lines from it, I think I'm seeing it in a whole new thematic
light. Now, in a performance dominated by a lot of quieter songs, this
provided a much-needed balance, and I loved it for that. Every day, I
like this song more.
Jesus Was an Only Son - Great on the record, even better in concert.
He paused midway through to wonder what would have happened if Jesus
hadn't listened to his calling and had lived out a happy, Earthly
life. This is another of his songs about hard choices, and
consequences stemming from those choices. Maybe that's why I like
this one so much.
Leah - After a funny story about Roy Orbison (before his death, Roy
excitedly told Springsteen that he'd written a song about
windsurfing, and it was really good. Last night, Springsteen pointed
to John Kerry, who was in the audience. "Yeah, you can lie to the
American public and send people off to war," he said, "But don't
mention that you like windsurfing, because that'll lose you the
vote." It was neat.), Springsteen launched into this song, one of my
least favorite on Devils & Dust. What can I say? Another redemption.
I think it had to do with him singing the "li, li, li" part in the
middle, and how that connected to "The Rising." Hmmm.
The Hitter - His roadies brought out a stool for this one, and I
feared that the combination of him sitting and this slow song would get
boring. It didn't, exactly, but it brought the show to a quieter
place. It's like at the end of my mix tapes, where the more dire
songs work in at the end. This was as good in concert as it is on the
album, no real change.
Matamoros Banks - Same here. Quiet, beautiful ... with the slight
exception of the haunting howl at the end. He used that howl a lot
last night, like a ghostly aching for something better. A good way to
close out the main set.
Ramrod - And then there were encores! Oh my God was this one fun!
He sang this one fast and fun and loose and the audience went wild.
Then he forgot the words to the last verse! He wandered around stage,
muttering, "I don't remember the words" and laughing at himself.
Then he remembered them and riled us all up some more, his guitar
jangly and rockabilly and absolutely fun.
I'm On Fire - My vote for biggest "Holy Shit!" moment of the
night. He grabbed a banjo - a banjo! - and sang this one as if he
was a serial killer looking for prey. "Hey little girl is your daddy
home / did he go and leave you all alone" became less smoldering
eroticism and more abject menace. "Does he do to you the things that
I'll do?" is absolutely horrifying. What's he going to do?! And
the refrain: "Oh, oh, oh, I'm on fire" is a grunt, a muttered
confession. This was probably the high point of a high night.
Land of Hope and Dreams - Or maybe this was. For awhile, the
full-band version of this song was in the running for my favorite
Springsteen song. Last night, I was reminded why. My eyes started
welling up early on and they just didn't stop. This is the song
where being optimistic is the key, where hope is the thing you strive
for. No matter what happens, no matter who you are or what you've
done in this wretched life, you deserve a second chance. Here it is.
Promised Land - Hands-down the best version of this song I've ever
heard. One of my early favorites, this one transformed last night into
a quieter, more contemplative yearning for understanding. I remember
who I was when I first heard this, a mixed-up kid trying to make sense
of my solitary life. Things are better now, fuller, but there's
always something to strive for, something to look forward to. And
Springsteen seems to be looking for it, too: hope and mercy and second
chances, from here on down the line. This was perfection.
Dream Baby Dream - He closed the show out the same way he opened it,
on the pump organ. This cover of the band Suicide is simple, with few
lyrics: "Dream baby dream / dry your eyes / keep dreaming," and
repeat. But it's the way it's performed. It's hard to explain.
Springsteen on the pump organ, the off-stage organ accompanying,
Springsteen repeating the same words over and over, making them a
mantra. Then he stands and it's just the offstage organ and Bruce
with a microphone: "Dream baby dream," as he walks to the front of
the stage, and now it's not a mantra but a prayer, "Dry your eyes,
baby," and he moves slowly offstage, leaving us in a rapture of these
words, these themes, these messages. Dream baby dream. I didn't
have to last night. All my dreams came true.
Kev
